


Queen of Rust and Ruin

by fragileKnight1



Series: Ghosts of Arcadia [4]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Found Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:01:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27591056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fragileKnight1/pseuds/fragileKnight1
Summary: This story takes place a few months before the events of Timeless Bonds. We see Chloe at her lowest with no hope and no real desires. She just wants to escape and be forgotten but then she finds a place that makes her feel wanted and meets Trotsky, who shows her that she is in fact capable of anything as long as she has faith in herself.
Relationships: Rachel Amber/Chloe Price
Series: Ghosts of Arcadia [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2002027
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	1. One Way Train to Nowhere

Chloe looked at the rusted out heap and knew that the truck was meant to be hers. She pried open the hood and started to clear out the cobwebs from the engine. It didn't look so bad at first but then a rat came scurrying out and she jumped backward. As she stumbled she bumped into a massive man with a thick beard with a braid down the center who was wearing a worn leather Air Force jacket.

"That truck is never going to run."

"I can get it to run."

"I am telling you that is impossible." The man shook his head, "That truck has been sitting there since I bought this place back in the nineties. I would have hauled it inside and stripped it if it had anything good on it. Now it is just a home for opossums and raccoons."

Chloe crossed her arms and said, "Listen, asshole, I can get it to run."

The man glared at Chloe in a way that made her flinch reflexively and then started to laugh loudly. He wiped the tears from his eyes and smiled widely as he said, "If you are that certain then go ahead and try to get it running. If you get it started I will let you have it."

"Are you serious?"

"I like your spirit." The man held out his hand, "The name is Gregor Trotsky and I own this scrapyard."

"Chloe." Chloe nervously shook Trotsky's hand, "And do you have any tools I can borrow? I was planning on heading home to steal some from a tool but..."

"I will put together a toolbox so that you will have everything you might need." Trotsky looked around, "How did you get out here by the way?"

"The train." Chloe laughed softly, "Was planning on riding it to the end of the line and then hitching my way up to Seattle, but then I saw this place and had to check it out."

"I will give you a ride. Where do you live?"

"Arcadia Bay." Chloe backed up and said, "But I am going to walk home. There is no way I am going to get into a vehicle with a junkyard weirdo."

"Scrapyard." Trotsky sighed, "Do you at least have someone you can call? I don't want you to get hit by a truck. Those loggers don't give three cents to what wanders into the road."

"Maybe I want to get hit and get a piece of the Prescott fortune." Chloe laughed, "Or maybe I will be driving out of here."

"Have fun with that, and try not to scare off my customers."

Chloe looked around car lot and said, "What customers?"

"People come once they realize what I have." Trotsky smiled again, "It just takes time and patience."

"Yeah sure, whatever." Chloe reached in and pulled out the rat's nest, "So what about those tools?"

"I will bring them right out." Trotsky started to walk away but paused to say, "Oh one more thing. No smoking on my property. If I catch you smoking the deal is off."

"Damn that is harsh," Chloe shook her head, "But if I do get a craving I will head out into the woods."

"If you do that keep an eye out for poison ivy. It has taken over almost everything out there."

"Uh...thanks I guess."

Chloe worked until the security lights came on and felt confident in the work she had tried to as she climbed into the cab. She hotwired the ignition and slammed her hands down on the steering wheel but the celebration was short lived. A few seconds after it started the engine started to make a loud banging noise and died.

"Fucking hell!" Chloe yelled as she climbed out of the truck, "You were supposed to work dammit!"

"Well the truck is yours." Trotsky walked over, "You know I could use someone like you around here."

"I didn't get it to run." Chloe kicked the front tire, "I fucked up."

"You got it to do more than I thought was possible." Trotsky smiled, "It just needs some parts before it goes anywhere."

"Do you have those parts?"

"I might, and if you work for me you won't have to pay them."

"I don't need your charity." Chloe pulled a wad of cash from her boot, "I got money."

"Alright, but not today." Trotsky nodded, "Can you come back Monday?"

"When should I show up?"

"I open at nine." Trotsky looked at the truck and said, "So do you want me to give you a ride home?"

Chloe clenched her jaw and groaned as she said, "Fine, but you better not be a creep."

"You can trust me."

"That is exactly what a creep would say."

Chloe laughed as she climbed into the back seat of Trotsky's jeep and tried her best to keep an eye on him the entire drive back to Arcadia Bay but she knew in her heart that she didn't need to. It was weird and confusing but he reminded her of her own dad from the same bad taste in music to his habit of making up his own lyrics to songs that had none.

She said thanks when Trotsky dropped her off and waited for his headlights to disappear before pulling the ladder out of the bushes. She propped it against the garage and used it to sneak into her bedroom through the window.

She quietly opened the door to her bedroom and when she was certain that her mom and the step-douche was asleep snuck downstairs to see what was in the fridge. She found a bowl of fried chicken and took it to the table before starting to eat it cold. It would have been better if she could have microwaved but she couldn't risk the noise.

"Where have you been?"

Chloe turned to see David and had to cover her eyes to keep from being blinded by his flashlight, "I was just out. What is it to you?"

"It is almost midnight." David wasn't even trying to keep his voice down, "You know that you are supposed to be home by nine. Have you been smoking dope again?"

"Fuck you." Chloe stood, "What I do is none of your business, but if you have to know I was out at American Rust looking at a truck."

"Don't you fucking lie to me!" David snarled, "I know what kind of people you hang out with."

"Oh do you mean Rachel? She is the only person you haven't scared off." Chloe shoved past David, "Fuck you, I am going to..."

David grabbed Chloe by the back of her shirt and threw her against the wall, "Listen to me you ungrateful bitch. As long as you are in my house you will follow my rules and you will show me the respect I deserve. If you come late again you won't be able to get back into this house do you understand me?"

Chloe groaned and rubbed the back off her head which must have been enough of a yes for David because he went back up stairs. She just sat there on the floor for a few minutes before staggering to her feet and going up herself. She sat down at her desk and clicked on Max's blog which had been updated with almost fifty short videos of kittens and puppies acting silly.

She thought about messaging Max but couldn't really think of anything to say so she just liked all of the posts and dragged herself over to her bed. Her head still hurt from hitting the wall so instead of sleeping she put on her headphones and hit play on the mixtape that Rachel had made for her.

\------

Chloe woke up the next morning with a splitting headache and decided to cure it with a joint hidden in the base of her beside lamp. It was old as hell and tasted awful but it still did the trick. After a few minutes she snuffed it out in her ash tray and walked over to her computer to see if Max was online.

<HEYO MAX>

<Morning Chloe. How are you today?>

<Better now that I know you are here in spirit.>

Max loaded a picture of her hugging a teddy bear and then sent, <Imagine that the bear is you.>

<Thanks Max, I needed that. I am getting a truck.>

<YAY.>

<Turn that YAY upside down and you have bird pecking at the ground.>

<Well at I know at least one thing you did this morning.> Max sent a couple of laughing emojis, <So do you have your license yet?>

<No emojis, and I have six driver's licenses to be precise.>

<Real ones. You are so criminal.>

<So you saying that you don't want to have seven way with me and my alternate identities. I happen to know Julia Happenin is a wild bitch.>

<Chloe.>

<Fine more fun for me then.>

<Get a real license.>

<Why?>

Max sent a GIF of a sad looking kitten, <This will be me if you go to jail.>

<Damm, Max that is unfair. Fine I will go to the DMV as soon as I get the truck to run.>

<Got to go. Mom and Dad want to go shopping today. Talk more later.>

<Bya Max.>

Chloe heard David leave and slipped downstairs to try and grab some breakfast only to be stopped by Joyce who was already cleaning up the plates from her and David’s breakfast. “If you wanted breakfast you should have come down when I yelled.”

“That’s fine.” Chloe smiled and took juice from the shelf on the fridge’s door, “I can grab something later.”

“I heard you and David last night.” Joyce dried her hands, “You need to stop pushing him.”

“I didn’t do anything.” Chloe shook her head, “David is just an asshole.”

“Chloe!” Joyce slammed her hands on the counter, “David is a good man and he just wants you to start caring about yourself. If you stop going out at night and if you stop getting into trouble then he wouldn’t have to be so hard on you.”

Chloe gritted her teeth and grabbed her dad’s coat as she left. She kicked down the trashcan as she walked out of the yard. She jogged four blocks to Rachel’s house and waved at Rachel’s mom as she walked up despite the fact the woman glaring at her. “Morning Mrs. Amber, Rachel home?”

“She is off with her friends.” Rose went back to working on her garden trying to clear the leaves from around her fancy pumpkin lights, “She has finally found a good crowd to be a part of so why don’t you go find somewhere else to hang out?”

“Mom quit lying!” Rachel yelled out the window, “Chloe I’ll be right down!”

Chloe laughed and Rose picked up her garden tools and walked back into the garage. “It was nice talking to you Ms. Amber.”

Rachel came running out of the house and jumped into Chloe’s arms as she said, “How is my BFF doing today?”

“Better now that I got to see your smile.” Chloe laughed and walked from the yard with Rachel’s arm around her waist, “Going to finally get a truck soon.”

“Oh did the King of Dicks finally fold on something?”

“No, I made a deal with the owner of the scrapyard to get it for free.”

“Chloe you didn’t…”

“Ewww…No.” Chloe laughed, “I ain’t like you and Frank.”

Rachel laughed and punched Chloe's arm, “Bitch.”

"Slut." Chloe laughed, "So how is school going?"

"Its going good enough to keep my parents off my back." Rachel sighed, "So where are we going?"

"Honestly I have no idea." Chloe smiled, "I think we are just walking."

"Well let's go to the lighthouse." Rachel pulled on Chloe's arm, "You can tell me you big plan? I know you and I know that you wouldn't be getting a truck now unless you were planning on doing something reckless."

"I didn't plan on getting a truck." Chloe shook her head, "I had planned on riding a train to the end of the line and getting out of this town, but then I saw the scrapyard and had to take a look."

"That is so you." Rachel pulled out her phone when it started to chirp and said, "It's my school friends. They want me to meet them at the Two Whales so that we can go to a party on Nathan's boat. Want to join?"

"That isn't my crowd." Chloe smiled to hide the fact she was actually angry at Rachel, "Go have fun."

"Well I won't force you." Rachel hugged Chloe again, "Meet you at the lighthouse later okay?"

"Yeah sure." Chloe nodded, "I will be at the cemetery until then."


	2. Chapter 2

Trotsky helped Chloe replace the fuel pump and said, "So who taught you how to do all of this?"

"Most of it is just commonsense." Chloe smiled, "But my dealer did show me a little when we hung out."

Trotsky handed Chloe a can of oil as he said, "So no school?"

Chloe shook her head, "I got kicked out in the eleventh grade for smoking pot in the bathroom."

"Why?" Trotsky shook his head, "I am not judging you, but I know you must have had a reason to purposely torpedo your future."

"I realized that nothing that I do would ever matter." Chloe sided and started to remove the spark plugs, "I am a loser and will always be a loser."

"You are what you make yourself. If that is what you see in the mirror then that will be what you will be." Trotsky held out his hand as a light snow started to fall and said, "Barely even into December. We can't work under these conditions. I am going to go get the tow truck and haul this rust bucket into the garage."

"I won't argue with that." Chloe nodded, "And her name is going to be the Bonnie Anne."

"I like that."

Chloe found herself smiling and kept on working despite the snow until Trotsky backed up his tow truck. She then helped him hook up the truck and followed close behind as he drove through the gates of the scrapyard and into a place that for Chloe was beyond amazing. Stacks of crushed cars stacked up like towers on castle walls. She tried not to smile too much but then she saw the inside of the warehouse with its walls of tools and skeletal motorcycle frames hanging from the ceiling and let the happiness take over.

Trotsky pushed the truck through the doors and hit a switch on the wall so that the doors could close themselves before saying, "Your eyes are bigger than Charlie's when he saw the Candy Garden in Willy Wonka. Are you sure that you don't want to work here?"

"The answer is still no." Chloe shook her head, "If I got a job here it would end up like high school. Either I would do something to ruin it or you will realize that I am not worth the trouble and get rid of me."

"When I was sixteen I was a part of a gang. It wasn't a serious gang but we broke into shops and we did drugs." Trotsky popped the hood on the Bonnie Anne, "This went on until I was forced to join the Airforce by my father."

"What are you going to say that the military is a good thing?" Chloe sneered, "I get enough of that at home from the asshole my mom married."

"There is nothing good about the military. I got lucky but I would never push that on anyone else." Trotsky sat down his wrench, "No, what woke me up was coming home and finding out that two of the boys I ran with was dead. One had overdosed and the other was shot dead in a robbery. I moved here a week later and I pulled myself up. You can do the same."

"How?" Chloe stopped working on the spark plugs, "How can I pull myself up when everyday is nothing but hell. The asshole that my mom married hits me whenever he feels like it, my mom doesn't give a fuck about me, one of my best friends is just faking being my friend at this point, and my other best friend lives so far away she might as well be on another continent."

"So you decided to run away." Trotsky nodded, "Not a bad plan, but you need to have a place to run to. You also need to have faith in yourself, because if you end up in a place that you don't know and don't understand with no skills you won't make it."

"You aren't going to tell me to hold out?" Chloe smiled faintly, 'To try to work with my mom in the hopes that things get better?"

"No." Trotsky helped Chloe pull out a stubborn spark plug, "You need to get out of that situation. You deserve to find a place you feel safe. What you should do is get a GED."

"Why?"

"A GED shows that you are getting yourself together. You can also get one online." Trotsky smiled, "Do you have a computer?"

"Yeah." Chloe put in the fresh spark plugs in and started to smile widely, "It is what I use to talk to my friend. I wish she was here right now. I miss her so much and talking on the computer isn't enough anymore."

"You want to be more than just friends with this girl don't you?" Trotsky smiled, "Well soon the Bonnie Anne will be able to take you to see her. For now I would suggest that you just stay in town so that when you figure out the rest of its issues you can comeback to fix them."

"You mean..." Chloe jumped into the cab and turned the key causing engine to roar to life and this time it didn't die, "Hell yeah!"

"You did the impossible." Trotsky nodded and looked at Chloe when she turned the engine off, "What is wrong?"

"I got to get my license." Chloe got out of the cab, "I made a promise that I would get a real one."

"I can help with that." Trotsky nodded, "It's getting late do you want to get a bite to eat?"

"I need to get home." Chloe sighed, "When can you help me get my license?"

"I'll call and set up an appointment." Trotsky nodded, "Come on let's get you home."

Chloe decided to ride up front with Trotsky on the way back and this time he waited outside for Chloe to go inside. She was about to grab the ladder when Trotsky got out of the jeep and walked up to the door. "Don't bother I will just sneak through a window."

"You live here and you should be allowed to use the front door." Trotsky knocked hard on the front door, "Now don't you agree?"

"I guess but..."

Chloe backed up when David answered the door and expected the worse but when David saw Trotsky he actually backed up. Trotsky smiled and said, "You must be Chloe's step-dad. She has been a big help at the scrapyard, and just wanted you to know that. I would be very upset if anything were to happen to her."

"While I am happy to hear that Chloe is working for once," David glared at Trotsky, "But I have no idea what you are suggesting. Chloe has a habit of lying to get her way."

Trotsky put his hand on the door frame and leaned over David, "I would expect that a vet like yourself would understand the consequences of manipulating the facts to suit a select version of the truth. Just remember that I would be very upset if anything were to happen to her and have a very nice rest of your day."

Chloe looked at Trotsky as she stepped past David and was about to run upstairs when Trotsky yelled for her and gave her his phone number so that she could call him if she need help figuring out how to set up an online GED course.

Once he was done she ran up to her room and waited for David. She was terrified that as soon as Trotsky was gone David would come barging in but he never did. She finally worked up the courage to pull up Max's Tumblr page and was about to tell her what happened but instead she reblogged one of Max's pictures that had no notes and sent her a message.

<Max your stuff is as great as always.>

After a few minutes with no reply she decided that Max was probably busy working on her pictures or hanging out with her parents. She leaned back in her chair and looked at her dad's coat before letting out a cry of frustration and breaking into her other stash to escape from reality for just a little while.

\-------

Chloe opened her eyes and for a few seconds believed that she had in fact died. A beautiful girl with a golden aura was staring at her but as it slowly dawned her she realized that she was still alive thanks to a very human angel in a fancy blue blouse.

With this angel's help she was able to pull herself away from the cliff and fell to the ground as she threw away the beer bottle she had tripped on, "Holy shit that was close. I think I might have just shaved off another thirty years off my life."

"I can't believe I actually caught you." The girl sat down and held out her hand, "My name is Rachel Amber. My parents just moved back here after living in Los Angeles for the past ten years."

"So you were born here in Arcadia Bay then?"

"Nah, I was a foster kid that they decided to adopt." Rachel shook her head, "Don't remember much about my real mom except that she gave me this hella cool hippy bracelet before dumping me at a police station."

"So how long have you been in Arcadia?" Chloe smiled, "I don't remember seeing you around school."

"My parents are very strict." Rachel sighed, "Normally I don't do anything they don't approve of, but I decided to sneak out and see what this party was about."

"Well I am glad that you did." Chloe pulled out a cigarette and lit it before offering one to Rachel, "These are some of the best smokes I could steal. They taste good because they are free."

"No thanks." Rachel smiled, "I want to be an actress one day and having yellowed teeth and lung cancer won't help with that."

"I can see that." Chloe smiled, "The actress thing not the cancer and bad teeth thing. You are really beautiful."

Rachel blushed and fidgeted, "So besides partying what else is there to do in this town?"

"You can either kill yourself slowly with cigarettes, smoke weed to escape reality, or wipe your memory with alcohol." Chloe laughed, "At the moment I am doing all three."

"You maybe exactly the kind of friend I need." Rachel stood, "I need a bad girl to teach me how to rebel a little."

"Oh you want me to teach you how to rebel." Chloe flicked her cigarette off the cliff and watched it dance on the wind before standing. "Well you certain have picked a master of the subject."

"So what is lesson one?"

Chloe smiled and wrapped her arm around Rachel, "Lesson one is how not to give a crap. We will start small with you. So what is something you have always wanted to do?"

"Get my ears pierced." Rachel didn't even hesitate to think about the answer, "I asked my parents to let me do that a few months ago and they said that modifying one's body is a sin against God."

"They sound like lovely people." Chloe shook her head, "If you aren't afraid of infection I know a guy who knows a girl who can pierce your ears for cheap and give you a tat if you are feeling particularly brave."

"Uh..." Rachel smiled nervously, "I think I will just get my ears pierced first."

"I am thinking about getting a sleeve tattoo." Chloe grinned, "That would really freak my mom out and piss off the asshole she married."

"You call your dad an asshole?"

"Not my real dad." Chloe frowned, "My real one died in an accident a couple of years ago. A semi-truck's brakes went out and my dad didn't see it in time."

Rachel leaned closer to Chloe and said, "I am really sorry to hear that."

"Don't." Chloe shook her head, "I get enough pity and fake sympathy from my teachers and former friends. I don't want to hear from you."

"Well what do you want to hear?"

"Tell me about Los Angeles." Chloe smiled, "Tell me something about it that you loved."

\-------

Chloe woke up from memory thanks to a tapping at her window and saw Rachel pressed against the glass like a drunken vampire. She walked over and unlocked it so that Rachel could climb in and immediately smelled the booze on her. She had obviously just got back from another rich party and couldn't face her parents.

Within seconds Rachel was clamoring over Chloe trying to get Chloe's top off while kiss and biting her neck but instead of giving in like she normally did Chloe pushed her back and said, "Not tonight. I am not in the mood."

"You are always in the mood." Rachel pouted and started to undress. "And I am horny so come on give a girl a helping hand."

"No." Chloe shook her head, "Listen Rachel this is usually fun but I am really not interest in whatever the hell it is anymore. I am tired of you ditching me when we are hanging out just because your new rich friends text you and I am tired of you coming over afterward just to have sex. I deserve better."

"You deserve better?" Rachel laughed, "Look around and tell me you actually believe that. What I am giving you right now is the best you will ever get. You should be grateful that I am still your friend or else you would be alone because quite frankly you are just to pathetic to be around. You are like shelter dog with its head pressed against the bars of its cage."

"Listen you are drunk so I am just going to forget all that stuff and make you a bed so that you can at least sober up."

"Fuck you."

Rachel started toward the window without getting redressed and Chloe had to pull her back, "If you go out like this you will either get arrested or freeze to death and then what would your parents think of you?"

Rachel raised her hand but lowered it immediately, "Fine you win. I'll stay even if you won't have sex with me."

Chloe sighed and tossed some blankets onto the floor for Rachel, "I will tell you what I said again in the morning."

Rachel laid down and wrapped the blankets around her like a cocoon. "Don't bother. I will remember."

Chloe sighed and gave Rachel a pillow along with a trashcan, "Goodnight."

Rachel made some unintelligible noises into the pillow and Chloe went back to bed. She wasn't tired anymore so she decided to just stare up at the ceiling until the sun rose. She started to really think about what Trotsky said and wondered if she should get her GED or even take Trotsky up on his offer to come work for him at the scrapyard. It felt weird knowing that she could actually have real options.


	3. Countdown to Judgement Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a kind of strange final chapter that takes place over three months.

April:

Chloe pulled up in front of the Two Whales and would have honked the horn if the horn worked, but thankfully Rachel saw her and came running out. She actually ditched her friends this time which was nice. She popped a cassette into the tape deck and turned the volume down as she said, "So guess what I am officially doing?"

Rachel smiled and started to go through the glove box, "What?"

"I am working at American Rust." Chloe smiled, "Trotsky made it official this morning so no more being paid under the table for helping him."

"That is really cool." Rachel closed the glove box, "So no stash?"

"Got rid of it at the skate park." Chloe smiled, "Got to keep my head straight for the job you know and for my online classes."

"Online classes?" Rachel looked at Chloe with a faint smile, "So you are serious about getting your GED then?"

"Trotsky says if I want to I might even be able to go take online college courses afterward." Chloe nodded, "I will still be shit but I will be polished shit and you can sell that."

"Chloe you will are diamond." Rachel laughed, "A little rough now but you are slowly getting cut and polished."

"Max is even more excited." Chloe smiled, "She has been sending me links for free textbooks and study aids along with a lot of positive memes. Whenever the step-douche starts up I know that I can trust that Max will have at least three dozen cute animal pictures to make me feel better."

"That is good." Rachel's smile faded, "So you really don't have any weed?"

"Nope." Chloe shook her head, "I am also down to only two cigarettes per day. Trotsky says that soon I might be able to move on to those wierd nicotine patches."

"I was hoping to do this wasted, but I need to stop by Frank." Rachel sighed, "I promised my other friends that I would bring some extra treats to the party we are having tonight."

"Seriously?" Chloe looked at Rachel, "So you just wanted to hang out because you hoped that I would have weed?"

"Wow, you don't have to say it like that." Rachel looked out the window, "Its just that you are...were my rebel queen."

"Still a rebel queen, but now I am a free rebel queen." Chloe smiled, "Saving my money for the important stuff like getting my own place."

"You are going to move out?"

"Not yet but eventually." Chloe nodded, "Checked the rent on the building that Max lives in and if I can get a job up there I might be able to...Okay that is a stupid dream, I will probably just end up finding a dirt cheap place here to live but hell I like dreaming again."

"Wow." Rachel started to smile again, "I think I like this new you."

"Ain't nothing new about me." Chloe smiled, "I just found myself again. It just took me five years."

"Screw Frank." Rachel looked out the window, "Turn around and we will hang out at the lighthouse like we used to."

"Wish I could, but I got to go to work in an hour." Chloe smiled, "I am just driving around in circles at the moment to kill time and listen for engine problems. Want to see the American Rust?"

"No..." Rachel sighed, "Just drop me off at my house. I guess I will do some of the homework that I have been neglecting."

"Alright, but Trotsky would love to meet you."

Rachel shook her head and said, "Sorry, but that is not my kind of place."

"That's cool." Chloe smiled, "That just means more rust for me."

Chloe drove over to Rachel's house and waved at her mom as she pulled up. Rachel gave her a quick kiss before running into the house and Chloe decided to make a quick stop at her own home to pick up a few of her workbooks before heading to the scrapyard. She parked behind David's half built Pontiac and was just going to ignore it but then she noticed how David had built the engine and rolled up her sleeves to fix it.

Ten minutes later David came in with a beer in his hand and tore her away from the car as he yelled, "What the fuck are you doing? I told you to stay the fuck away from my shit. I don't want you stealing any of this to pay for your dope habit."

"Back off." Chloe held up her hands, "I was just fixing it. The way you had it set up it would have burned out after..."

David slapped Chloe so hard her ear left ear started to ring and said, "I don't give a fuck what you think you know. I have been doing this for years. Now get the fuck out of my garage before I call to have that pile of shit you call a truck towed away."

Chloe put her hand to her ear and walked into the house. She walked past her mom in the kitchen and ran upstairs to her room. She looked at the books on her desk and fought the urge to trash them. She took a deep breath and said, "Fuck them, Chloe. You are better than this place and you can't give up. Fuck David."

She took another deep breath and said, "Fuck David.", just a little bit louder as she picked up her books. Fuck him for still thinking she was still doing drugs. Fuck him for calling the Bonnie Anne a pile of shit. If he wanted to burn out an engine then let him burn out an engine. She could just laugh when he had to take it to a garage and spend a couple thousand to get it fixed.

Chloe walked out of the house feeling better than ever and flipped off David before getting into her truck and leaving for work. She turned up the radio and started to sing along with the weird folk rock band that Max had recommended she try. It wasn't Daughter, but she had to admit Lord Huron's To the Ends of the Earth was definitely a fun song to drift off too.

"You know what Max one day I will have to take you to a concert."

"You aren't cereal." Chloe imagined Max sitting next to her wearing that nasty grey hoody that she never seemed to take off, "Can you imagine me at concert? I don't even know how to dance."

"Max I can teach you how to dance." Chloe smiled as her mind drifted, "I can show you how to really shake that cute hipster ass of yours."

"Chloe..."

The radio cutting off snapped her out of the daydream just in time to see that she was about drive past American Rust and she quickly turned around. Trotsky was talking with three guys who looked like extra's from Deliverance near the car lot and she parked the truck out of the way as she walked over to them. She waited for Trotsky to get done talking and said, "So which you is buying a car today?"

Trotsky smiled and said, "That would be Mr. Jacob. He is looking for a car for his wife."

"Then he is looking at the wrong cars." Chloe walked over to the pink Chrysler, "The color on this one is pretty hideous in my opinion but it is also a classic of the fifties with some updates to make it suitable for the modern age."

"She wants something with horsepower."

"A lady after my own heart." Chloe smiled and moved over to the cherry red Corvette, "Then you will want this car. Now the price tag is a little higher but this beauty can go from a purring kitten to a roaring tiger thanks to its completely customized engine."

The guys walked over when Chloe popped the hood and Mr. Jacob smiled when his friends whistled at the sight of the engine. He looked it over and said, "I think we will take this one."

Trotsky nodded and said, "Head on into the bus and we will get the paperwork settled."

Chloe smiled as the guys went inside and shut the hood, "Damn, I think I might be good at this."

"I have to agree." Trotsky looked at he red mark on Chloe's face, "Did David hit you?"

"Don't do anything." Chloe shrugged, "I tried to show him that he was making a mistake on this car he is restoring. If he undoes what I fixed the engine will burn out and I win and if he leaves what I did then I still win. Yeah it hurts like a bitch, but eventually I will be out of there."

Trotsky nodded and said, "Do you have your workbooks?"

"Yeah." Chloe nodded, "I was planning on working on them after I finished stripping those old Buicks for parts. Can I use the office computer to finish a couple of lessons?"

"Of course." Trotsky nodded, "I will also bring your commission once the papers are signed."

"You don't have to do that."

"Chloe you have earned it." Trotsky smiled, "I honestly thought they were going to leave here without buying anything."

"Just doing my job, Boss." Chloe saluted, "Now onto my other job.I honestly don't know what you would do without me."

"Neither do I." Trotsky laughed, "Turns out the one thing this place was missing was a punk woman with an attitude."

"Damn right it was."

\-------

May:

Chloe knocked on Rachel's front door again and finally got Rose to answer. She crossed her arms and said, "Where is Rachel?"

"You would know better than us." Rose sneered, "Now leave before I call the police on you for trespassing."

"I know you hate me, but this is serious." Chloe sighed, "I haven't seen or heard her in three days. Is she sick?"

"She isn't here." Rose held up her cellphone to show that she was ready to call the police, "And no I don't know where she is. She doesn't tell us anything anymore."

Chloe started to back out of the yard, "I am going, but if she calls you can you tell her to call me?"

Rose slammed the door and Chloe drove off. Something in her heart told her that something was very wrong but she couldn't figure out what. After a couple hours of driving around checking on the places she thought Rachel might be she pulled into Blackwell's parking lot and was going to try to find out who she had been hanging with but when she saw David she backed away and drove off.

"Rachel..." Chloe looked at her radio as it started to go haywire again and shook her head, "I am not going to replace you. You are the only cassette player left in existence so stop being a drama queen."

Chloe sighed and decided to give up looking for the day and drove out to American Rust. She knew she had to work but she couldn't concentrate on anything but Rachel. She tried to call Rachel's phone again but she had already run out of minutes.

"Chloe are you alright?" Trotsky walked over and took the socket wrench from Chloe and said, "You have just been staring at this engine without doing anything for the last hour."

"Its my friend, Rachel." Chloe sighed, "She is missing and no one seems to care."

"How do you know she is missing?" Trotsky smiled softly, "Could she just..."

"I have called her over a thousand times and I have looked everywhere she loved to hang out at." Chloe shook her head, "And in my heart I know she wouldn't just leave without saying anything to me."

"If she isn't back in a week I will make you some posters to hang up around town." Trotsky hugged Chloe, "Let's take a break from work. I got some steaks in my freezer and I have been waiting for a chance to teach you how to grill."

Chloe hugged Trotsky back and said, "Thank you."

Trotsky nodded, "I will always be here for you."

Chloe started to cry and hugged Trotsky even tighter. For a moment she forgot about everything and all she could think of was how nice it was to be hugged.

\------

June:

Chloe took a deep breath and sat down at the dining table. It had taken her a week to build up the courage to talk to her mom about going to Seattle instead of just taking off and tried not to look at David as she picked at the dried out pot roast. "Mom, I am going to drive up to Seattle to pick up Max. She is going to Blackwell next year and needs me to..."

"No."

Chloe looked at David and said, "I wasn't asking you."

David took a drink of his beer, ""I am not going to allow you to go hang out with some drug addict up in Seattle."

"Max is not a drug addict!" Chloe stood, "My mom can tell you that."

"People can change. You haven't seen her in five years." Joyce shook her head, "David is right. She could be different now."

"I only asked you out of respect. You can't stop me from going."

Chloe started toward the door but before she got there David grabbed her and shoved her into the wall, "I have told you before that this is my house and as long as you live under this roof you follow my orders. I do not give a fuck what that fat faggot or those drugged out losers you hang with tell you..."

Chloe slammed her fist into David's face and barely had time register what she had done when he punched her back with enough force to knock her to the floor. He grabbed her by the front her shirt and punched one more time before letting go and she dragged herself to the stairs and forced herself to stand while David started to take off his belt. She staggered up the stairs to her bedroom and shoved her chair under the door knob before throwing some of her clothes out the window and into the back of her truck,

She could hear David kicking at the door and climbed out the window herself just as the door flew open. David tried to drag her back inside but she was able to make it down to her truck. She knocked down the mailbox as she tore out of the driveway and didn't even realize where she was going until she was already halfway there.

The only thing that was on her mind was that she was free. She had actually punched David. Her hand hurt like hell and blood was dripping from her knuckles but she had punched him. It didn't matter what had happened after. She was fucking free and she was on her way to Seattle where Max was waiting for her.

She tilted the rear view mirror to look at her face which was starting to bruise as swell and fought the urge to touch it. She took a deep breath and said, "Fuck you David."


End file.
